Cal Football Fall Camp Practice #5: This. Is. Sparta.

Other than the positional drills and special teams the majority of practice was designated to full contact 11s. It was the first time the team had full pads and were able to tackle. Let's get into it.

Rob's Practice Notebook:

• Brandon Singleton continued his meteoric rise this Fall Camp to becoming one of the most reliable wide receivers on the team. He came in lauded for his speed, but his route running and catching ability have taken a huge step forward. On one occasion, he juked Ashtyn Davis out of his shoes on a comeback route and made the catch.
• Luke Rubenzer is becoming a ball hawk. He had his third pick of camp—that's three in the last two practices. Rubenzer is currently tied with Darius Allensworth for interceptions in camp, although it should be noted one of Rubenzer's was a Pick-6
• Jordan Veasy looked to be in top shape today. He had great separation and acceleration out of his breaks and battled for every single ball thrown his way. In 7s, he exploited a hole in the defense and was wide open down the sideline. He was wide open and Veasy threw him a perfect ball—it would have been a touchdown in a game situation.
• Antoine Albert's play has put him in the drivers seat of the corner position opposite of Darius Allensworth. He had a couple of PBUs today that were all perfectly timed plays.
• As Coach Dykes said on Thursday, Patrick Worstell is possibly the best safety-valve player on the team. He goes for the catch and secures it—and does not look to make the home run play.
• Melquise Stovall is a revelation. (Thank you, Bryce Treggs.) He is the best YAC player on the team and electrifies on any possession he gets. He scored on a fade and on a quick slant, during both of which he created huge separation against his defender.
• Jaylinn Hawkins has made strides at the safety position. His instincts are quite sound and showed that with a few PBUs. Hawkins and Rambo make for a very interesting pairing at the top of the defense.
• The new names don't stop flowing in Fall Camp—this time it was Drew Kobayashi making a TD catch in redzone 1-on-1s. He might not see playing time this season, but he's definitely one to keep an eye out for the future.
• Carlos Strickland can be seen going through some growing pains as a receiver, but when he makes plays, it's hard to imagine him not being a starter. His physical attributes make him a match-up nightmare and that was shown on a fade throw where he high-pointed the ball and the defender didn't know what happened.
• Justin Dunn has quietly been an effective player running with the 2s and 3s. He has great hands and makes the right adjustments to make the catch. In 1-on-1s, he was thrown a bullet pass at his helmet going inside, but he adjusted his hands and caught the ball behind him and got the TD.
• DE Evan Weaver was called in to Special Teams drills today by Coach Tommerdahl. It wasn't a shocker considering his athletic ability, but he hadn't been participating in that part of practice with the other DEs. Just something to keep a mental note of.
• Vic Wharton is growing as more than just a speed receiver and he showed that today with a great TD from Webb. Vic high pointed the ball over S Jacob Anderson.
• Derron Brown flashed his speed as a newly minted outside linebacker. He ran from the middle of the field to the sideline and had a PBU on a throw to the flat and denied the TD. We haven't had that type of speed on the outside in quite a while. He also can hit too. He put one down on Worstell just leading with the shoulder.
• Everyone might have questions about every position group, but the one that no one will ever question is the running backs. Khalfani Muhammad started 11s with two runs over 10 yards. He looked like he was happy to be out there and showed the speed that we all expected of him.
• Ross Bowers. To. Malik McMorris. 1st Down Bears. That happened. I think that's all that needs to be said.
• Ross Bowers has gotten a better hold of pocket presence. On one play he had the pocket collapse on him, but he stayed in there and found Justin Dunn at the sidelines for about 15 yards.
• Jordan Veasy was open down the sideline AGAIN, but this time was thrown too short by Ross Bowers.
• Billy McCrary is one amazing athlete and will force the coaches to give him snaps at RB. He turned at swing pass into a 56-yard TD after shedding two tackle attempts.
• Addison Ooms ran at C with the 1s most of the practice. He looks really comfortable calling out the protections and talking to his teammates on the line.
• Evan Rambo showed of his athletic ability with a PBU at the sidelines on a pass intended for Veasy. He covered a lot of ground to get in position to tip the ball just before it reached Veasy.
• Davis Webb and Chad Hansen seem to be on the same page on a lot of plays. That pairing capped of the day with a 37-yard TD.
• Tre Watson had his best run towards the end of practice with a 20-yard run, shedding three tackles. Luke Rubenzer chased him down to end the play.
• Patrick Laird had a 41-yard run, but the most impressive part about it? Evan Weaver was the one who chased him down.
• Jordan Duncan had the last TD of practice and it was from Chase Forrest. He was wide open and what a great way to end practice that was.

California Love. California Rising.